Keep your thoughts green on Earth Day

“Eco-chic” is not some sort of girlie green lifestyle magazine, but it sounds like it. These green prefixes make me want to snap the cuffs on my rubber gloves to some catchy little Earth Day jingle.

“Eco-chic, eco-ethics, eco-eco, woncha party ‘til it’s greeeeeen?”

According to all the green industry news “eco-this” and “eco-that” are very trendy this year.

I think what they really mean is it’s a great trend for the economy.

Green is the new green, if you know what I mean.

Slap the word “green” or “eco” on a label and no more green guilt for shoppers.

If you want to make less of a negative impact on the planet Earth, you couldn’t find a better place to do it than right here at home by shopping locally.

Most of our small local farms and nurseries grow their products with good horticultural methods that are Earth friendly. Even if it isn’t certified organic, it will be better than products that are shipped in. Our cooler climate has, so far, insulated our crops from the diseases and pests that plague farmers in the Lower 48. Consequently, our farmers use fewer chemicals to protect their crops.

Nurseries and greenhouses in the Alaska Grown program ship less plant materials into the state and rely on more locally grown plants.

To be certified Alaska Grown most of our perennial plant materials spend at least one winter in the ground or outside in containers. Trees and shrubs must be wintered over at least two years to qualify. That’s not only good for the Earth, but good for your wallet.

The dreaded mantra of the nursery business is “But, they’re so small,” or “They’re not in flower.”

This isn’t Kansas, dears.

If you want winter-hardy plants that are locally grown without artificially forcing them to perk up before their time, then you have to remember — that’s the way they’d look if they were in your garden all winter.

As the price of fuel drives up the cost of shipping and heating, it will change how greenhouses and nurseries operate in the future.

Heating greenhouses full of perennials will become cost prohibitive and a waste of resources. Consumers will have to change the way they think plants should look when they shop in early spring.

I remember my first field-grown perennials bought from the late Dr. Washburn at her Farm Loop area nursery. We had to arrive on our scheduled day and time to pick up our order, and our planting orders. She was very strict about plant care and what kind of vehicular travel was involved. You’d better not bring an open pickup truck or she’d send you packing. Her plants were healthy, nearly bare root and wrapped in damp shredded newsprint.

The Altai violets were so tiny.

But, boy did her plants thrive in my beginner’s garden. They were dug up when it was the right time to transplant according to nature and not Big Boxco’s schedule. I still have great-grand plants of many of Dr. Washburn’s wonderfully Eco-chic and trend-setting plants.

We’re fortunate to live right in the heart of the agricultural community.

Shopping for locally grown plants and produce has never been easier. You can buy direct from local nurseries, look for them at the different farmer’s markets in Wasilla, on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. starting June 4, and in Palmer at the Friday Flings by the train depot, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from May 16 to Aug. 15.

Local produce growers, like Kenley’s Alaskan Vegetables, will probably have customers three-deep by noon at this season’s Friday Flings, so don’t drag your feet.

Marie Domer plans to have her produce stand up and running by mid-June at Mile 1.5 Old Glenn Highway at the foot of Lazy Mountain. This year Marie will have several farmers bringing produce for sale Friday through Sunday throughout the summer (745-6561).

If you grow your own produce, enterprising Palmer gardener Laura Sampson is putting together a veggie-produce swap for those of you who have too many zucchini. You can read her blog at Eatingdirtsoup.blogspot.com to find out more.

Earth Day might still be under a blanket of snow in some parts on April 22, so you’ll need to swap those rubber gloves for something a bit warmer. But, spring’s just around the corner and I promise it will be green again.

OK, I’m going to go fire up the snowblower now and clear a path to the greenhouse.

Brooke Heppinstall, artist and gardener, is the owner of Wool Wood Studio & Gardens, an art studio and nursery specializing in Alaska-grown perennials and shrubs. Visit online at Woolwood.blogspot.com.